The consumption of large amounts of triglyceride fats has been linked to various health problems. For example, one of the most common metabolic problems among people today is obesity. This condition is primarily due to ingestion of a greater number of calories than are expended. Fat is the most concentrated form of energy in the diet, with each gram of fat supplying approximately nine calories, and triglyceride fats constitute about 90% of the total fat consumed in the average diet.
The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference, "Lowering Blood Cholesterol to Prevent Heart Disease," JAMA, Vol. 253, No. 14, pp. 2080-2086 (1985), concluded that elevation of blood cholesterol levels is a major cause of coronary artery disease, and recommended a reduction in the amount of fat eaten to reduce blood serum cholesterol levels.
Hence, there is a need for ways t reduce the amount of triglyceride fats in the diet, in order to reduce the health risks associated with these fats.
Numerous fat substitutes are known to the art. A review of some of the approaches tried for replacing fats and oils is given in an article by Haumann, "Getting the Fat Out," JAOCS, Vol. 63, No. 3, pp. 278-288 (March 1986). Various approaches and products that have been suggested for replacement of the fat content of foods are examined by LaBarge in "The Search for a Low-Caloric Oil," Food Technology, pp. 84-90 (January 1988).
A partial list of some of the reduced calorie fat substitutes known to the art includes the following: sugar and sugar alcohol fatty acid polyesters (U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,186 to Mattson et al., issued Aug. 17, 1971); fatty alcohol esters of polycarboxylic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,746 to Hamm, issued Apr. 2, 1985); fatty polyethers of polyglycerol (U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,532 to Hunter et al., issued Jan. 13, 1976) (food use disclosed in German Patent 207,070, issued Feb. 15, 1984); ethers and ether-esters of polyols containing the neopentyl moiety (U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,419 to Minich, issued Nov. 29, 1960); fatty alcohol diesters of dicarboxylic acids such as malonic and succinic acid (U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,927 to Fulcher, issued Apr. 15, 1986); triglyceride esters of alpha branched chain-alkyl carboxylic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,548 to Whyte, issued May 18, 1971); fatty acid diglyceride, diesters of dibasic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 2,874,175 to Feuge et al.); polyorganosiloxanes (European Patent Application 205,273 to Frye); alpha-acylated glycerides (U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,715 to Volpenhein); medium chain triglycerides; highly esterified polyglycerol esters; acetin fats; plant sterol esters; N-Oil; polyoxyethylene esters; jojoba esters; mono/diglycerides of fatty acids; and mono/diglycerides of short-chain dibasic acids.
Esterified propoxylated methyl glycosides are also known to the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,843 to Smolin et al., issued Aug. 18, 1987, discloses esterified propoxylated methyl glucoside compositions used as skin moisturizers and emollients in skin care formulations. It is not suggested that the glucosides can be used as a fat substitute in low calorie food compositions.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,264,478 and 4,324,703 to Seldner, issued Apr. 28, 1981 and Apr. 13, 1982, disclose the use of alkoxylated (particularly ethoxylated and propoxylated) methyl glycosides as fragrance fixatives. The esters are not disclosed. Again, there is no mention of using the glucosides as low calorie fat substitutes.
Other related art includes European Patent Application 254,547 to White et al., published Jan. 27, 1988, which discloses esterified derivatives of epoxylated polyols for use as fat substitutes. The polyols have from 1 to 8 primary hydroxyls and from 0 to 8 secondary and tertiary hydroxyls, the sum of the hydroxyls being from 3 to 8. Examples of disclosed polyols are sugars, glycerides and saccharides. Glucose and other sugars are disclosed but not alkyl glycosides.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,930 to Griat et al., issued Dec. 21, 1982 discloses, as emulsifiers, mono- or di-alkyl carboxylic acid esters of polyethoxylenated .alpha.-methyl glucosides. The ethoxylation is with 10-30 moles of ethylene oxide and the alkyl moieties contain 11-21 carbon atoms. The disclosed use for the emulsifiers is in cosmetic and topical pharmaceutical compositions. Food use is not disclosed.
One of the main problems in attempting to formulate fat substitute compounds that have decreased absorbability and thus low calorie properties is to maintain the desirable and conventional physical properties of edible fat. Thus, to be a practical low calorie fat substitute, a compound must resemble conventional triglyceride fat, and have the same utility in various fat-containing food compositions such as shortening, margarine, cake mixes, and the like, and be useful in frying or baking.
None of the above-mentioned references suggests that alkoxylated alkyl glycosides esterified with fatty acids are particularly suitable for use as low calorie fat substitutes in fat-containing food compositions. It is known in the art that esterified propoxylated methyl glucosides can be used in skin care formulations. However, the compounds of the present invention have now surprisingly been found to have desirable organoleptic and other physical properties that make them well-suited as fat substitutes. This is so even though the structures of the compounds are significantly different from those of triglyceride fats.
Moreover, the compounds of the invention have now been found to be resistant to hydrolysis and therefore nondigestible. Accordingly, the compounds contain zero calories, in contrast to the nine calories per gram in triglyceride fats.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide esterified alkoxylated alkyl glycosides that have organoleptic properties making them suitable for use as fat substitutes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide fat substitutes that are resistant to hydrolysis and therefore nondigestible and noncaloric.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide food compositions containing these nondigestible fat substitutes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become evident from the disclosure herein.
All parts, percentages and ratios used herein are by weight unless otherwise indicated.